The Ross Family

Orlando!

2012-02-05T19:37:00.000-08:00

Brian and his Dad had to go to Orlando for work so Brian's mom and I came along. It was just what I needed in January. It was 70-80 degrees and the warm air made me so happy.

First, we went to Universal Studios Orlando. This is the best theme park ever! The rides are so intense. We went straight to the Harry Potter World and it was awesome. We also had a pass that got us to the front of the line of every ride which we didn't even use much because there was no one there!
We loved the Harry Potter ride. It was so fun! I also LOVED the butterbeer!!!! Sooo good!

Brian's parent's were happy to do whatever!

Haha! I love this picture of Paul. Anyway, after 5 rides, I had to be done. Seriously, I am not kidding when I say that this park is intense! I also took dramamine for the first time and I think that made me feel worse. I felt a little groggy and soooooo nauseous. But that's ok because we went over to Disneyworld and hung out at our hotel.

The next day we went to Disneyworld which was so wonderful. The whole time I kept thinking the kids would love it here but I think we will wait a few years to bring them here. We only had enough time for Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios but it was the perfect day.

The Animal Kingdom Lodge is so amazing. I really wanted the kids to be here for this but we needed a trip with just Brian and I. I love this hotel.

Our view from the hotel room:

Best view of all!

I was sad to leave on Saturday. It was 80 degrees and I was just so happy soaking up the sun and shopping at the outlets. Especially since I found a Lululemon outlet! I was very happy about that! It was hard to come back to the cold weather but I was so excited to see the kids so it wasn't too bad. Goodbye Orlando. Thanks for keeping us entertained!

I know what my New Year's Resolution is...

2012-02-03T11:40:00.000-08:00

I haven't laughed this hard in a long time!

Christmas outfits

2012-01-16T20:51:00.000-08:00

It's that time again to take pictures of the kids. I took one last year in the outfits they got for Christmas and I finally got around to this year's pictures.

Thanks to Brian for this picture.

Danny

Sam

Sarah

Sophie and Ashley

2012-01-14T13:35:00.000-08:00

Last month, I told my sister to drop her kids off and I would take pictures of her daughters, Sophie and Ashley. Such beautiful girls!

Sophie
Wow. I am not use to taking pictures of kids who actually pose for me and just smile. Sophie LOVED to pose. She just popped her shoulder up and smiled. I was surprised that this was actually harder than I would have thought. With my kids, I have to work hard to make them laugh and I am use to candid shots. She was so much fun though. I had a hard time narrowing them down.

Ashley

Happy 2nd Birthday Sarah!!

2012-01-09T13:21:00.000-08:00

Sarah turned 2 on the 5th of January. I can't believe it. It seems weird to me that I am not pregnant and I don't have a small baby. With Danny and Sam at this age, I was either pregnant or had a baby.
I love Sarah. She is an angel. Really, she is my sweet angel. She makes me so happy. She makes my life so easy. It is so fun to see her grow up and I love the cute things she says and her sweet little voice.
Sarah loves animals. She loves when I read books to her.
She asks, "Wha das?" for Whats that.
She loves to wear her jammies all the time (because Sam does).
She is happy to just entertain herself and rarely cries or whines.
She is getting to the point where she likes to act silly and funny. I love it.
She sleeps at least 13 hours at night and sleeps 3-4 hours during the day.
I am so thankful for my sweet angel.

We went to Discovery Gateway in the morning of her birthday.

Sarah had such a fun time!

Sam dressed up as the big bad wolf.

Sarah's cousins, Sophie and Ashley, came with us.

Sarah's birthday party

Sarah loves parties. She was so happy about her blanket that she got, she just layed right down with her toys.

Sarah LOVES her grandparents.

Patrick and Ty had an awesome time!

We invited all of my family and all of Brian's family. We had such a fun time.

1000 pictures

2012-01-06T07:33:00.000-08:00

I took at least 1000 pictures in December.
I can't help it. I feel like I need to document every single thing that happens. It makes me so happy to take pictures.
Plus we had too many Christmas parties for me to even remember.
That explains all of the posts I have done in the past couple of days.
I am so excited to relax and get back to enjoying my simple life :)

Happy New Year!

2012-01-05T21:37:00.000-08:00

My idea of the perfect New Year's Eve is...

watching the Utah bowl game with family and friends...

especially when we win!!

Dinner...

Movie...

Hanging out with friends with lots of sugary drinks

While Grandma and Grandpa watch the kids all night! Thanks Mom and Dad!!

Ugly Sweater Crhistmas Party

2012-01-05T20:23:00.000-08:00

After 21 years, I am still so close with all of these friends. We were best friends in elementary school and we still have so much fun together. They are all very musical and artistic. We sat around and played the guitar, harp, and piano and we looked awesome doing it in our cool sweaters.

Rachel loving my sweater

I asked them to play Billie Jean and they just whipped it up and played it by ear. We had some amazing dancing by Peter :)

Delta Gamma Christmas Party

2012-01-05T19:39:00.000-08:00

It was good to see my sorority sisters after Christmas. It was a fun night with lots of talking and food.

TACP 2011

2012-01-03T13:04:00.000-08:00

We had our annual christmas party with Brian's friends which include my brother, sister in law, and cousin who is also one of my best friends. I have been friends or known most of these people since I was in middle school and they are more family to me than friends. I love them all dearly. We had one baby addition to the group (a big surprise to mom and dad), one pregnancy, and one couple continues to try to get pregnant, while another couple is hoping that they will not get pregnant. Everyone is at such different places in their lives but we are still so close.

Kofoed's and Quam's

Sato's and Lockes

Oh! Who caught these candid photos of us? We had no idea anyone was taking these.

Haha! No the 2 asians are not a couple.

Locke's and us

Cannon's and Lockes

Firmages

Haha. Unicorns. Let's just say our white elephant gift this year was the best.

The guys and Tiff's awesome glasses.

The girls. Ignore the background :)

Here is a sample of what our white elephant gift was. This wasn't the exact picture but I think Brian would kill me if I showed you the actual picture we used.

Christmas

2012-01-02T21:11:00.000-08:00

We had such a wonderful Christmas this year. Sam was sick, poor guy. Other than that, it was so a wonderful day.

Danny got a new camera from Christmas and these are the pictures he took. I love them!! He did suck a better job at capturing Christmas than I did.

England Chrismtas Party

2012-01-02T20:24:00.000-08:00

Quiet and not a lot of people this year. So different from all of the other parties this year but a nice change. I love my mom's family.

Glamour Shots

2012-01-02T19:41:00.000-08:00

So my friends and I were talking about how funny it would be to take some "glamour shots" of each other and give them to our husbands for christmas as a joke. I don't think any of us actually gave them to our husbands but it was hilarious to take the pictures.

I love these girls. I love that I can act like an idiot and they still hang out with me. I love that they are always up for fun. I love that they make me a better person. I love that they appreciate who I am and everything that I do.

HAHA! Here are a few of my glamour shots. I feel a little akward putting these up because there are probably a few people who think I am serious, but I'm not so calm down :) I wish I could put everyone's pictures up because they are so much more funny than mine but I better not if I still want them as friends :)

Fun with the kids!

2012-01-01T21:03:00.000-08:00

Danny was off track through the most of December and I decided to make it fun for the kids. I decided to have some of his friends over from class.

Making snowflakes

We also made some marshmallow snowmen.

It was all girls and Danny. He didn't mind at all. Of course not, look at how adorable they are!

Danny made cookies at his friends house. His had the most decorations.

Gardner Village

A few of us moms decided to take our kids to Gardner Village to find the elves. That same day, my friend, Jenn sent me the nicest message about how grateful she was for me. It meant so much to me and I decided I needed to do more for others so I decided to take 3 of the neighbor kids along with us. It was freezing but so fun.

Then we ended the day with a movie night. I invited all of the kids in our greencourt over for hot chocolate, popcorn, and a movie. They were so hyper because it was so close to Christmas but we had a lot of fun. They love movie night.

Sam's Christmas Program

2012-01-01T20:58:00.000-08:00

Yep these are the best pictures I got for Sam's program. Probably because they just danced around the whole time. It was funny. Sam makes me laugh. He loves preschool. They got to wear pajamas!

Ross Christmas Party

2012-01-01T20:46:00.000-08:00

We always love the Ross Christmas Party. Brian has the sweetest cousins and it is so fun to see them. We also love that Santa comes!

Sarah had such a fun time but she didn't love Santa.

Mrs. Claus was so cute and just loved Sarah. Santa made Brian sit on his lap with Sarah. It was funny.

Alex is home from his mission!

2012-01-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

My youngest brother, Alex came home from his mission. It is so fun having him around.

I love these pictures of my mom and Alex. I loved watching all of the moms run to their sons and just hug them.

This was so cute to see these boys all together again. They just hugged each other then went straight to beating each other up :)

Dinner at the Pie

Brian and Sam. My sis, Whitney and her daughter, Ashley.

My sis, Heather and her husband, Nate, and Luke. Amy and Kimberly, SIL's.

My cute nieces.

My brothers and sisters.

Cousins.

Annual Night Downtown

2011-12-24T12:14:00.000-08:00

Every year we stay downtown for a night with my family. We picked up my sister Heather and her family from the airport, then the party started.

We got to meet Luke from Texas!

Out to lunch and dinner with the new Muppets movie in between

wrestling with Grandpa

Christmas p.j.'s

the guys wrestling...again

the girls

Cute little girls. We stayed in a hotel. which was interesting having all 5 of us in one room. We all woke up to Sam singing jingle bells. It made me laugh.

Breakfast in the morning, then off to Danny's basketball game.

Tim and Amy are engaged!!!

2011-12-06T18:46:00.000-08:00

My brother Tim proposed to his girlfriend on Saturday night! We were all so happy. Tim told us to plan a surprise party with Amy for his birthday. So when she took him to a friends house for his "surprise party" it turned out to be decorated for her. There were flowers everywhere with lanterns hanging from the ceilings. I made a video of them and we watched it at my parents house afterwards.

Such a cute couple.

She had no idea that her mom was waiting at my parents house for her afterwards.

Amy is a Delta Gamma (along with my sisters and I). Woo hoo! Yesterday she had her candle passing. It is so fun. All of your sorority sister stand in a circle and you pass the candle around while singing a song. The candle has the engagement ring on it of the girl who just got engaged. Once the candle comes to the girl who is engaged, she blows it out and everyone freaks out because it is a surprise. I went to the DG house for that. It was so fun.
Then all of the sigma chi's came and sang a song to her and each of them gave her a rose afterwards.
Then Tim and Amy each gave 10 reason why they love each other. It was so fun.
It reminded me of when Brian and I did the same thing. 9 years ago.

Congratulations you 2!

Little cutie pie

2011-12-05T20:21:00.000-08:00

I decided that Sarah's hair needed help. So I took her to cookie cutters and we gave her a cute little bob.

She was doing so well until Sam smashed her finger.

Poor thing.

They gave her a sucker and she was much happier. How cute is she?

Pictures with Grandpa Don

2011-12-05T14:08:00.000-08:00

Brian's Grandpa, Don, said that all he wanted for his birthday was a picture of him and the kids to send out in a christmas card. Um OK! Here are some that I took:

I was too stressed about getting the kids to smile that I waited till the last few pictures to try to get Danny to fix his squatty neck. Now I wish I would have done it sooner but oh well. At least they are all smiling. The funniest part was that Brian's grandpa was the one who had the hardest time looking at the camera. You should see the way he looks at them. He just loves them.

Please.

2011-12-01T14:02:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T12:12:00.000-08:00

We ate dinner at my parents house this year. It was so delicious.
I am thankful for my Heavenly Father.
I am thankful for my family.

Tim and Amy passed out after our glorious feast.

My grandparents. Such wonderful people.

I am thankful that I have brothers and sisters who can make me laugh.

I am so lucky for these 3 cuties.

We ended the day with Arthur Christmas and a second dinner at Brian's parents house. We were planning on just saying hi but ended up eating....again.

Airborne

2011-11-25T15:35:00.000-08:00

The other night, Brian and I went to this trampoline arena place in Draper with my brothers, their wives (well Amy isn't quite yet) and some friends. It was so much fun!

We started out with some dodgeball. We killed the other team. They may have been a little younger than us but that just means they were faster...
Anyway this was a blast.

Jumping into the foam pit

Patrick and Brian

Tim kept doing double flips and he was so fast that he had to do it 3 times before I finally got a picture. I'm not sure what Kimberly is doing :)

Hahahahahaha. Amy slipped on her way to the foam pit. I was laughing so hard. Can you tell I love to act like a kid every chance I get? We were all acting like such idiots.

We will definitely be going back with a large group so if you want to have so much fun, you must come!

Let It Snow!

2011-11-25T15:27:00.000-08:00

I had a fun time taking pictures of the cute neighbor kids and Danny playing in the snow...or I guess laying in it.

Breaking Dawn part 1

2011-11-25T14:56:00.000-08:00

My mom, sister, sister in law, and soon to be sister in law went to dinner before the movie. With a sister on a mission, a sister in Texas, and a SIL at work, our group is quite small.

Amy, Kimberly, and I posing with Edward and Jacob.

What on earth are we going to do when these movies are over? Our friends joined us for the movie.

Such a fun night!

What I thought was a sliver...

2011-11-20T19:31:00.000-08:00

Was definitely not.
So I was cleaning out my craft closet and I pulled my foot back to switch positions and I got cut. I looked at the cut and didn't see anything but blood. I couldn't find what cut me. That day I asked Brian to check it out and he said that he couldn't see anything.
The next day I went to yoga and it was really uncomfortable. Brian had left for New York so I told my dad to take a good look at my foot. I was pretty sure it was a sliver. So he poked at it and tried to clean it out with a needle and said he couldn't find anything.
The next morning I woke up at 5 a.m. with such pain in my foot that I couldn't fall back to sleep. By this point my cut had healed. My Dad came over to watch the kids and I went to the Instacare. The doc said that she didn't see any sign of anything being in my toe but sent me to get an xray in case. Well the xray came back:

And there was a needle in my toe. It was about 1/2 inch deep. They sent me to the hospital and had it cut out. My mom was with me the whole day. I kept telling her that she didn't need to come and it wasn't a big deal but she came anyway. I was so happy because there was a lot of sitting and waiting all day and we had a lot of fun.

Goodby Mullet!

2011-11-14T14:12:00.000-08:00

Sarah was rockin a pretty gnarly mullet so I decided to cut it. Here are pictures of Sarah's first haircut:

Before & After

Playing in the Snow!

Sarah was so excited to be able to go play in the snow. Her hat was a little big. She does look miserable but she loved it.

"Mom, I think I'm in love."

2011-11-10T08:53:00.000-08:00

Danny: "Mom, I think me and Erika are in love"

Me: "Oh really? What does it mean to be in love?"

Danny: "It just means that you care about each other and you like to do the same things."

I took these pictures on 80's day. I know Danny's outfit is a little lame. I really wanted to have him wear a cutoff neon shirt with cutoff jean shorts but it was a really cold day. And I don't really think the other kids in his class would appreciate it like I would :) Probably a good thing because only one other kid in his class dressed up.

T ball

2011-11-07T19:48:00.000-08:00

We just finished a great season of tball! This is the first for Sam.

Sam is such a funny kid. He wasn't very focused on playing the game. He was more focused on playing with his friends.

Or bugging his friends.

I love these boys.

Danny took the game a little more seriously.

He is such a happy boy. I love it. He didn't go outfield half the time and didn't care if he hit the ball or not. He just wanted the treats and a trophy.

Danny hit the ball so well. He is such a great baseball player. He works so hard.

Gateway

2011-11-07T19:01:00.000-08:00

We spent the day at Gateway the other day and it was such a great day.

We saw a movie at Clarke Planetarium.

Watching Danny play through the fountains after buying books at Barnes and Noble.

She loves her Dad.

The boys love to hug Sarah. Also Danny wanted to get a picture of us :)

Our first science fair!

2011-11-07T18:45:00.000-08:00

I feel like I am back in school again with Danny being in Kindergarten. I can't believe how much work it is but I love it. It is so much fun. I have been volunteering twice a week and it is so much fun being in his class and working with the kids. It makes me miss teaching preschool just a tiny bit.

So Danny had a science project and I was dreading it because I hate science. Luckily we had just gotten Danny a rocket for his birthday so we used that.

We took his rocket to a large area with nothing around. All of the neighbor kids wanted to come so they dragged their parents to follow us. We shot it up in the air and Sarah has been making loud rocket noises ever since.

We asked what will shoot higher, the small or large rocket. Danny's hypothesis was right, it was the smaller rocket. Way to go Danny! Thanks for coming, Grandma!

New York New York!!

2011-11-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

After 3 1/2 years, Brian and I made it back to New York. It honestly seemed like it had been 10 years. I love New York. Even though it was really cold and rainy, we had the best time.

Carriage ride in Central Park. So this 2nd picture of the horse was taken by our driver. I guess he would be called a driver? Coachmen maybe:) ANYWAY he took 3 pictures of the horses head and told us to stand up in the carriage. I think he thought he was a great photographer.

Hugh Jackman on Broadway

Wow he is talented. Such a great dancer, singer, hip thruster, comedian, and booty shaker. I actually thought he was gay half way through but Brian insisted that he was just a good actor. Such a fun show. I really like him.

We actually saw him come out of the buliding after we met up with my friend for dinner. What a pleasent surprise.

Dinner with friends
We actually spent 2 of our nights with some friends so we didn't get to see as many broadways as I wanted but that's ok because it gives us a reason to go back! Oh who am I kidding. I will always have a reason to go back just to go shopping.

My friend Rebecca, from high school who I haven't seen for like 5 years. It was so good to see her.

Oh Danny. Thanks to you, now I have to get my jumping pictures every trip I go on. He started these jumping shots in Disneyland and now I have to do it on every trip I go on. We went to THE BEST mexican restaurant with our friends Danny and Mara. The 3 of them kept going on and on about these marshmallow shakes that are to die for and I was the only one who hadn't tried one so we decided to go and eat some more.

Oh yes they were unbelievable. They actually toast marshmallows and make a shake with them. Yummmm! I don't know why we were posing with batman... Thank you Danny and Mara for a great night.

Shopping

Yayyyyy! So Brian worked for half of the day, visiting people so I ventured out and shopped all up and down 5th avenue. It was kind of fun wandering around and finding little restaurants and shops. Thanks to my cousin Emilee who helped me find some of them. The shopping on 5th avenue was ok but the best shopping was in Soho. I loved it.

The rumble of the subway
(can anyone name that song?)

More eating. Wow I ate SO MUCH on this trip.

Time Square

I love that Brian did a jumping picture. He even did it twice! I love you Brian! Thank you for a wonderful time!

Halloween!!!

2011-11-01T21:23:00.000-07:00

Holy cow Halloween lasted all month this October! We had so many Halloween parties this year! it was so much fun but I am so done with Halloween :)

Trunk or Treat with our ward. Brian set up a car for the young men and it was by far the most popular.

Spookapalooza
Some of my our friends went with us and it was so fun!

Oh I love that we all have such creepy akward faces in these pictures.

Haunted Circus

My friends wanted to go to a Haunted house and I thought it would be so dumb but it was so fun! I just hid behind my friend Heidi the entire time :)

Cute Sarah in her Halloween outfit

Friend's Halloween Party

My friend's had such a fun Halloween Party at their house. I love how akward I look in this photo. Me look akward in a photo? NEVER.

I love this Lindsey Lohan and her parole officer. We also did a little Just Dance.

Olive Oil and Popeye

Sam's Preschool Parade

Halloween Party at Lifetime Fitness

Cannon Halloween Party

1. Sarah and her cousin Ashley 2. Patrick and Tim are dressed up as my brother (Alex) and sister (Elizabeth) who are both on missions.

Kris Kross will make ya JUMP JUMP! Love the chest.

I am dressed up as my Mom's aunt Carol. You probably won't think it is funny unless you have met her.

Chromosomes

My Mom came to Danny's Halloween Parade at school. She also gave the boys these suckers. I love it.

Sam had so much fun helping at Danny's Halloween party at school.

Trick or Treating

Dragon, Cow, and Superman. I think they wore their costumes every day in the month of October. Sarah would wear hers ALL DAY. She loves cows.

Grandpa Don's Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-01T21:04:00.000-07:00

Brian's cute Grandpa grew some pumpkins for the kids this year. He couldn't stop talking about them. We had fun picking them out.

Danny asked wanted to take a picture of me with a pumpkin.

We carved our pumpkins at Brian's parent's house.

Birthday Week!

2011-10-27T12:52:00.000-07:00

I had such a fun birthday this year. I had fun things going on all week:

Foo Fighters Concert

Oh yes, people. Our year of concerts just got better believe it or not. We saw Foo Fighters. It was so fun! I guess I am not as hip as I use to be because I got annoyed when he kept yelling the F word while everyone else was cheering. I also got tired and sat down through some of it. What happened to me? Haha.
*Noted to self: Work on being more hip and standing up and singing for longer lengths of time.*
Anyway David Grohl is awesome. Did you know that Tom Petty asked him to be a drummer for him and he turned him down to start his own band. WHICH he recorded all on his own. Guitar, drums, singing, everything he recorded by himself! He is so talented. So this is the end of the best year of concerts.

Footloose

My girlfriends and I saw Footloose and we had such a fun time dancing and laughing at the really cheesy parts. Right in the middle of the day. Such a blast!

Witches Halloween Party

Love these girls. Haha. I opened my door and Jenn was standing there in her pumpkin outfit :)

The simple things that bring such joy

2011-10-12T20:40:00.000-07:00

Yoga at the park

Sariah did a yoga class at the park again with my family. It was awesome like always. I love the first picture because I couldn't hold the pose any longer and I am falling (far right). The second picture is Katie, Sariah, and I.

Movie Night

Sarah LOVED her first movie night. We let the kids rent a movie and we set up blankets, pillows and popcorn. The kids love it. Sarah was so cute laying with the boys.

The boys and their friends

Ok you HAVE to watch this video. This is how the boys and their friends entertain themselves. I LOVE that my kids have friends out in the front yard waiting to play every day.

Luau, Dinner, and Camping

2011-10-06T12:06:00.000-07:00

We live in the GREATEST neighborhood. I love it so much. We have so much fun with our friends out here.

My friends Cheri and Alysha put on such a fun luau. It was several months ago but that's ok.

Some girls in my neighborhood went to dinner.

We are trying to be serious in the first picture but that didn't really work.

Camping

Riding the 4 wheelers. This was so mush fun for me. I could've done this for hours. It is amazing how much the kids love camping! Sarah was in heaven! She kept screaming and laughing while we were driving through the mountains.

Cute Sam.

Time to get dirty. We left the kids and rode just the girls. Again, I was in heaven. I couldn't go fast enough.

We got a little muddy.

You haven't fully experienced summer until you've gone boating

2011-10-06T11:39:00.000-07:00

I figures since it started SNOWING today I would finish up my summer blogging. Here are some pictures of us boating with Brian's family.

Brian, Sarah and Sam on the tube. The next picture is aunt Kellie and Sam.

How cute does Sarah look?

Danny's favorite thing is to drive the boat. Sarah likes to pretend to drive the boat.

Hanging out with Grandpa Paul

Tubing. Sam did not like tubing. He hated the sun in his eyes.

Happy 6th Birthday Danny!

2011-10-04T21:31:00.000-07:00

Oh I love this sweet boy. Every time anyone would ask him what he wanted for his birthday, he would just say I don't care! He was so excited to turn 6.
Danny is doing so well. He does so well in school. I volunteer a lot and he is so social! That was one of my big worries but he talks to everyone at school. He doesn't care if he has a ton of friends but it just seems to come natural to him in class.
He has become such a good listener. He is also so obedient.
He thrives on learning. He loves to have a schedule with something to do. He loves it when I teach him something to do. When he was off track, he struggled because he was free to do what he wanted and got so bored. That is my fault. I need more for him to do.
I love how passionate Danny is. He gets so excited about anything new.
I love you Danny! You bring so much joy in my life.

Opening presents! Sam was right beside him like it was his birthday.

Sarah wanted a picture taken of her.

We invited our family over on his birthday. My favorite was my Granddad jumping in front of Danny outside and started singing Happy Birthday at the top of his lungs. Danny's friends were all staring at the ground with big eyes trying not to laugh.

Party with friends

My Dad's Surprise 60th Birthday Party!

2011-09-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

We had a surprise birthday party for my dad because he turned 60. He had NO idea and it was so fun! We had it in a dance studio with the Joe Muscolino band and ballroom dance instructors to dance with us! What a great night!

My mom and dad were so happy.

Getting crazy on the dance floor.

Me and my sister in law's. Well Amy on the very right isn't married into the family yet but she will be :) I love these girls. I love Kelli on the very left in her back bend. I guess more like hip bend.

This was one of the dance instructors. It was such a blast because he just told me what to do the whole time. This was probably the only time that I wasn't dancing like an idiot. Although my face looks awesome, don't you think?

We love you Dad!

This was so funny. My Dad was so embarrased. I have never seen him so shy before. I also love Kelli (my SIL) dancing. That was her all night. I love it.

Sam Starts Preschool!

2011-09-12T20:29:00.001-07:00

Sam started preschool a few weeks ago. He was so excited talking about it but the day before, he was really nervous. He kept asking me if I could stay with him.
It is funny how different him and Danny are. Danny was SOOO ready for preschool. He just wanted to learn and wasn't nervous at all. That is partly because Danny didn't really even notice the other people at school.
Sam, on the other hand would be happy just staying at home and playing with friends all day. He would much rather play than sit down in a class and learn. I have a feeling he will be more of a free spirit in class.
He ended up really liking preschool. Everyday I ask him what he learned in class and he replies, "Snakes." They haven't talked about snakes at all. I love this boy.

This is a picture of the kids when Danny started school.

Sam and Elliott

Sam and his friend, Elliott started preschool on the same day. They go to a different school but I wanted to get a picture of the two of them.

A Girl's Dress...

2011-09-09T13:43:00.000-07:00

can never be too poofy.

Or too bright.

In my opinion.

Loving every minute of this girl

2011-09-01T13:20:00.000-07:00

Sarah makes me laugh more and more every day. She does the cutest things:

This is how I found her when she woke up the other day.

Sarah is not saying a lot of words but I always know exactly what she needs. Especially when she is hungry.

She just stands there with her mouth open until I put food in her mouth.

Sarah could sit and read all day and be happy. This is her at the library. She was so excited.

This is Sarah's reaction when I ask her to take a nap.

Playing tee ball with Sarah.

Unforgettable Night with Adele

2011-08-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

Adele is my favorite artist and she came to Utah for her concert.
I was so depressed when I found out it was on a Sunday.
I knew I couldn't bring myself to buy a ticket and find a babysitter for a concert on Sunday.
I decided I was going to find a way to hear her sing live without buying a ticket or having to ask someone to babysit on a Sunday.
I talked to Brian about taking the kids downtown and "taking a walk" right by the Gallivan Center where she was performing.
I don't think he thought I was serious because he planned some fantasy football thing that he had to be home for. Lame.
So, last minute, I grabbed Danny (because I didn't want to be by myself) and told him we were going on an adventure. I told him that we were doing to go see Adele sing live and he was so excited. He loves her almost as much as I do.
I didn't think I would be able to get close enough to hear her sing but I had to try.
We drove downtown and rolled our windows down do listen for her while I tried to find a parking spot. We were an hour late but she had someone open for her so I wasn't worried.
I found the perfect parking spot right across the street! I didn't have to pay either.
As we were walking across the street, Adele started singing Hometown Glory. Danny and I both started running and screaming toward the concert. This is one of my favorite songs ever and I wish you could have heard her sing it. It was remarkable. No, that doesn't describe it's glory. I can't think of a word to describe it so I am forced to make one up.
Scrumtrulescent.
Yep that describes it perfectly.
The thing I love about Adele is that she sounds better live than on her album. She truly is incredible. Her voice is just astounding.
We went right up to the gate and watched her perform on the screen. We were so close! Danny and I sang along to all of her songs and danced a little. She is so funny. I had to fight back tears because her performance was so breath-taking.
We got to see her entire concert.
Danny had such a wonderful night. He kept hugging me and telling me he loved me. He does that when he is in a really good mood.
I will never forget that wonderful night.
This video is a little sample of some of the songs she sang. It is from my phone and she still sounds wonderful.

Weekend Getaway

2011-08-16T15:13:00.001-07:00

Our good friends, Kari and Ryan invited us to Mesquite over the weekend. We had some really funny experiences with the people there and it was so much fun.

The guys golfed while the girls layed out by the pool, read and got massages. It was such a relaxing trip.

Thank you Woodward's! You are the best!

Danny starts Kindergarten!

2011-08-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

Danny started Kindergarten today.
It seems like I have been looking forward to this day for so long. It is so exciting to see my kids grow up. It does scare me a little bit because kids are not so innocent anymore these days. He has been SO excited though.
I have gotten teary a few times. Like last night when we went to my mom's house for dinner and she made Danny stand on the rock wall and she announced he was going to kindergarten and we all cheered for him and he just smiled.
He is not a little boy anymore. He is ready though. He will do great things.

Looking ecstatic as always. I think he gets that from me. I usually don't have a lot of emotion in my face. I think he is deep in thought. I am so excited for you, Danny!

On Monday, Brian and I went to meet his teacher and Danny got tested. We went and got ice cream afterwards with just the 3 of us and it was so fun. Danny was so happy.

Concerts!!

2011-08-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

Honestly, this is the BEST year for concerts. Of course that is just my opinion.
Over the weekend, we got a babysitter overnight and went to deer valley to see
IDINA MENZEL!!
If you don't know who she is, she is the original
Maureen in RENT
and Elpheba in WICKED
My 2 favorite broadway's.
If you still don't know who she is...I am sorry. You need to get out and see a broadway.
Oh my she is incredible. I love her voice. Not just her singing voice but also her talking voice.
She sang a few Wicked songs including Defying Gravity. Yep I got to hear Idina Menzel sing Defying Gravity LIVE! It sounded just as good as I had hoped.
She also sang No Day But Today from Rent
and Tomorrow from Annie
She also sang some Barbara Streisand songs but I am not a huge fan of BS

We sat on the grass and watched her sing. It was such a fun night. Haha. We are so awesome.

We went with Brian's family (his sister and BIL are in this pic with us). Wow, look at that handsome man in front of the mountains! I am sure that most of the men at the concert were thinking the same thing because they were all gay.

Brian's parents. Again, what a fun night.

U2

A few months ago, we went to the U2 concert. It was awesome! He sounded so great. The stage setup was incredible! It was huge. He played for so long. My favorite was Beautiful Day. We had a lot of fun.

Living in a greencourt

2011-07-21T09:33:00.000-07:00

*If you don't feel like reading everything, at least make sure you watch the music video that Danny and his freinds made at the bottom*
Do you ever just feel like you are in the perfect place in your life?
Brian and I talked about moving but decided not to because we LOVE the people we are surrounded by.
We live in a greencourt where 8 houses face each other. We have had some CRAZY neighbors and lots of sad experiences, including child abuse.
It is sometimes hard to live so close to people because you get to know more about them than you want to.
But I honestly wouldn't trade it for anything. I love where we live.
I have met some WONDERFUL friends. Every time I walk outside, there is another mom who comes and joins me on my porch to talk.
Living in our greencourt, there are constantly kids in and out of your house.

Since Sarah has been sleeping so much, we don't go out much. Instead I have tried to bake treats with the kids, which of course, includes ALL of the the neighbor kids. It has been so much fun....and MESSY. The kids get SO excited every time we do it.

Obviously, there is not a dress code in our greencourt. You can change into your pajamas in the middle of the day, like Sam.

Or you can just wear your swimsuit all day.

One day, the kids changed into their pajamas and got all of their stuffed animals, blanket, and pillows and had a "sleepover". It was so funny.

We decided to do a bake sale/water party one day. We wanted to raise money for kids who live in an orphanage and don't have anything. That morning we sent out an email to the neighbors and by the afternoon we had so many kids over and raised $80! Everyone is so willing to give. I love it.

Movie Night

I love movie night! Brian figured out how to make an outdoor movie screen and we watch movies outside at night. Sometimes we put the kids to bed and all of the parent's watch movies.

And best of all, we made a music video with all the neighbor kids! Danny sees the videos I make with my girls trips and he told me that he wanted to make one with his friends. I love it because my best friend, Emily and I made videos all the time when we were young so I was all for it. I asked the kids that were playing with Danny and Sam if they wanted to do it so all of the girls got all dressed up (LOVE Erika's wedding dress) and we started. Well the older kids watched what was going on and I asked them to join in. At first they said no but then they couldn't resist and joined in. Then next day, we watched it at our movie night and everyone loved it. It was so fun. Enjoy!!!

Never Stop Loving You

2011-07-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

Today I said to Danny,
"I love you."
He replied,
"I love you too. I will never stop loving you. I will never change my mind about that. I can change my mind about anything else except for that. I will always love you."
I'm a happy mom.

End of the Soccer Season

2011-07-10T19:14:00.001-07:00

We had our last soccer game a few weeks ago. It was a lot of fun. Danny started out the season not being able score any goals and ended the season by scoring most of the goals for the game. I was so proud of him. Sam didn't play much and I was ok with that. he was happy just being part of the team.

Go bumblebees!

Oranges were the our favorite each game. Sarah even ate part of the peel.

I am so happy that my parents and Brian's parents made it out to several games. It means so much!

4th of July

2011-07-07T14:33:00.000-07:00

Breakfast at my Grandma's

Tim and Amy My parents and Sarah

My cute Granddad gives Danny money to share with Sam and Sarah.

We had a barbeque in our greencourt then we did fireworks. I love our neighbors. We have so much fun.

It's going to chase me...then it is going to KILL me!

2011-07-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

That is what Sam said when he saw this ant on our bathroom floor. He was totally serious too.

Luckily Sam is alive. He was not chased (at least I don't think that ant was chasing him, it is hard to tell with how slow he was going) and was not killed by this ant.

Speaking of insects, meet Danika the butterfly. Danny named this butterfly Danika. We see her daily and this morning, she was sitting right outside our bedroom window and stayed there, despite the pounding on the window and screaming of my children.

Sarah

2011-06-29T09:29:00.000-07:00

I have loved taking pictures of the kids over the past week. It makes me so happy.

My sweet little princess. I wonder how many times I kiss her during the day. Whether I am at the grocery store, playing outside, at home or anywhere, I feel like I am kissing her all day. My mom was asking me if it was weird getting use to 2 boys and then a having a girl and I said no because I have wanted a girl so badly and I have been so ready for it and I have been enjoying it to the fullest. I love getting her dressed up. I love her more and more every day. She brings me so much joy every day, along with Danny and Sam.

Sarah is just the best baby ever. My mom said I was the exact same way when I was a baby. I never cried and was just happy by myself. She is so happy. She gets so excited to see the boys every morning. I think she is confused why they aren't as excited as she is sometimes. She loves to try and play along with the boys. She loves when friends come over to play. I got her doll, doll stroller, doll high chair, and doll crib out and she loves to play with them. Is it weird that I can't wait to play dolls and barbies with her? She loves to pretend feed her dolls and put them to bed. She goes to bed at 7:00 and wakes up between 7 and 8. Then she takes 2 naps that total 4-5 hours every day! She sleeps so well.

One of my favorite things is Sarah singing. She will sing in the cutest, softest little voice and do cute little hand actions. She loves the Itsy Bitsy Spider, The Wheels on the Bus, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. In relief society on Sunday, she stood up by the chorister and sang and moved her arms like she was conducting.

Sarah loves animals. Especially dogs. Whenever she sees a dog she gets so excited and chases it. She always notices animals and LOVES to read books about them. She could be happy reading books all day. Whenever she is sad, all I have to do is grab a book and she is happy. I love hearing her make animal sounds. It is so cute.

Sarah is a cuddler! Yay! She loves to cuddle with blankets, dolls, or anything soft. Any time I give her a blanket, she lays down and sucks her thumb with it. This last picture was taken when Brian was watching the kids. He couldn't find Sarah and after looking for a while, he found her in the laundry room with all of her dirty blankets. Sarah is so low maintenance. She is happy to go downstairs by herself and play for 30 minutes by herself. Then when I go to check on her,

she is sitting on Dad's lap while he is working. She loves going into his office (did I mention he works from home now) and sit on his lap quietly while he works. She has become a lot closer to Brian and I love it.

Sam

2011-06-27T17:12:00.000-07:00

Oh I just love Sam. He makes me laugh.
He is the sweetest boy in the world. He loves to take care of Sarah. Whenever she cries or whines, he quickly comforts her by putting his arm around her and saying, "It's ok sweetie." He always makes sure that she is happy. He is always grabbing her blanket or stuffed animal and saying,"Here you go sweetie. (in his high pitched voice).

He loves to share. Whenever he gets 2 treats, he gives one to Danny and keeps the other. He never even thinks about keeping both for himself. If he only gets one, he asks for another so that he can give it to Danny. Every day he is taking handfuls of food and treats out to his friends because he gets so excited to share with others. Even if the kids are mean to him, he quickly forgives them and gives them treats.

Sam is such a funny kid. He has so much energy. He loves to run around and screech and laugh in his high pitched voice. He really has a hard time sitting still and taking direction. He loves to be free and do his own thing. He thinks it is so funny to call his friends things like poop face. They get so mad and he doesn't understand why they don't think he is funny. This poor guy is always pushed aside by Danny and his friends. Sam just adores Danny and Danny is more excited to play with friends. It makes me sad but hopefully Sam will make his own close friends. Sam's friends are always paying attention to Danny which causes Sam to get frustrated and hit all of the time. He will just walk around and hit for no reason at all. I am trying to teach him to stop but in the meantime all I can do is just love him even more and understand his frustration. I think this is why he is so kind with Sarah. She is the one person who doesn't boss him around. When I get mad at Sam, he can be such a stinker but all I have to do is give him a hug or tell him I love him and he will hug me right back and give me kisses and tell me he loves me all at once. Like I said, he is SUCH a sweetheart.

Sam was so excited to see Cars 2 that he wore his Lightning Mcqueen shirt and shoes.

Danny

2011-06-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

Danny is starting Kindergarten in one month. I feel like this is his last summer being a little boy. This is a lot of rambling but I want to remember this time in my kids life.

I love watching my kids grow up. Each stage is so exciting and they are so fun.
But this is actually making me very sad. I am very excited for him to start Kindergarten but it is going so fast.

Danny has become SO social. He loves playing with friends and I have to make a rule that he can't go over to friends houses until 9 a.m because he gets so excited to play with them. He loves to act silly with his friends. That is my fault because I am very sarcastic and I am always joking around with the kids. His favorite things are video games and the ipad but we only let him play video games once or twice a month. He loves to pretend to be a superhero or anything that requires him to pretend fight. He loves to wrestle with Sam and they love to beat each other up. They always end up crying and I am ALWAYS yelling at them to stop.

This is Danny laughing at me because there was a bee buzzing by me and I was screaming. Danny has the best laugh in the world. I love to hear him laugh. When I took him to see Kung Fu Panda 2, there was one part where he was the only one in the theatre laughing. The best part was that he was laughing so hard that it sounded like he was screaming. It was so funny.
Danny loves to learn. He loves to try new things. His mind NEEDS to be stimulated. He just soaks everything up. He is so good at reading and math. He isn't very into art. When he is asked to paint, he does it as fast as possible and doesn't mind coloring outside the lines. He stores so much information in his head and is always wanting to learn more.

Danny is so active. He just finished soccer and did GREAT. He LOVES to golf with Brian. He also likes swimming, baseball, and tennis. He wants to continue dancing so I am not sure what to do with all of his talents.

He has a hard time going into detail about things that he does. Every day I would ask him what he did in preschool and he would say, "play". I have to bribe him and threaten him with little things to get him to talk about what he did at school. When I ask him what he did at summer camp, birthday parties, sports games, he always gives me a one word answer. But he will talk my ear off if it has to do anything with movies or video games.

This is probably Danny's favorite friend, Erika. When he first started playing with her, he would talk about the color of her hair and the color of the dress she had worn that day. That is so not something that Danny does. It caught me by surprise. It was obvious he had a little crush.

When I say that Danny is growing up too fast, this is what I mean:
Erika's mom, Katie told me that Erika said that Danny kissed her on the cheek!!! Again, SO not something that Danny does often.
Then, I saw them sitting outside together and he had both of his arms around her and his cheek against her cheek.
Last of all, I saw them laying on the couch next to each other with their arms around each other. That made me nervous. I don't know where he is getting this from but isn't he way to young for me to be worrying about all of this!?! Ahhh! I had a talk with him and hopefully he will understand boundaries.
It just makes me laugh because that is very uncharacteristic of Danny to act that way.
Anyway, I love Danny. He is such a wonderful helper and very determined. I love that he tells me he loves me on a daily basis and is constantly giving me hugs.

Danny's hip hop performance

2011-06-22T13:24:00.000-07:00

I seriously love this boy so much. Danny had his dance performance last week and he did so well. I put a video of his performance at the bottom. I am not sure why he is in the very front for the whole dance. He keeps looking back to make sure he is doing the right thing. He is such a cute dancer. I love it.

Cole's wedding

2011-06-21T06:31:00.000-07:00

I love weddings because you get to see people that you don't see very often. Our friends Abby and Nate came in town from LA. It was so fun to see them.

Happy Father's Day!!

2011-06-19T19:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day Brian. Brian is always offering to take the kids and give me a break. Then, when I come home, the house is spotless. These kids love their dad more then anything.
This was taken tonight before the boys went to bed. They were using Brian as a slide.

I am lucky to have the greatest dad. He never got mad at my mom and was always helping her with whatever she needed. He is a very wise man. I always had high expectations for my husband and father of my children.

The girls and their matching dresses

2011-06-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

My mom got these matching adorable dresses for the Sarah and all of the girl cousins. We had to get a picture of them all together before Abby and Jane went back to Texas.

My mom also got these dresses for the girls. So cute!

Funny Girl

2011-06-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

After Sarah takes a bath, she always has to keep her towel on her head for a long time. I will get her dressed and she still insist on wearing her towel. She also loves her swimsuit. She wants to wear it so I just put it on top of her clothes. She even took it to church with her a few weeks ago.

Danny asked me to take this picture of him and Sarah sitting together.

8 Years

2011-05-29T13:26:00.000-07:00

Brian and I just celebrated our 8 year anniversary in Vegas. Brian was there for work (again) so he flew me out. It was fun. We got to stay in Aria which was awesome. I have been wanting to stay there for a long time so I was excited.

We spent a lot of time laying out at the pool. It was heaven. This girl asked us if we wanted some of her oil and we said no. She seemed confused. She didn't understand why we didn't want skin cancer.

We got to use the spa. It was so fun. This is Brian at the pool. And best of all, Brian surprised me with tickets to Glee live! Yes we are big time Gleeks. He told me he was taking me to a show and I looked on the internet at what shows were playing that weekend and when I saw Glee, I knew that was the show we were going to. I even told all of my friends we were going before he told me.

Glee!

We also got to see League of Extraordinary Dancers. They were INCREDIBLE. Brian kept trying to talk to me and I was glued to the stage so he gave up. This video isn't very good but it sort of gives you an idea. Also there is another clip of the Warblers performing Teenage Dream.

Danny's big week!

2011-05-16T08:19:00.000-07:00

Danny had a great week last week. We will start off with soccer.
I signed Danny and Sam up for soccer. I signed Sam up knowing that there was a good chance he wouldn't want to play. He really wanted to be on Danny's team so I did it anyway.
Our first soccer game wasn't the best. Our team scored a lot of goals (already better than our first season where Danny's team never scored a goal) but there are a few aggressive kids who had the ball every time and kept scoring goals, meaning Danny (who isn't aggressive with a big group of kids) had a very hard time getting the ball. He didn't score a goal and he just cried and said that he wasn't good at soccer. Sam went out on the field once and sat out the rest of the game. It made me so sad for Danny and I just hoped that he would somehow score one goal sometime.

So we had the 2nd game on Saturday. I had to get a bountiful basket and didn't end up getting there until a few minutes after it started. Brian took the kids to the game. As I was walking up to the field, I noticed that Danny was kicking the ball towards the goal. I started running towards the field and started screaming and cheering Danny on. I got there just in time to see Danny score a goal. The first goal of the game. I was so happy I almost cried. It is funny how the smallest things can bring a parent so much joy. He was so happy. Wow I was happy to get there just in time. He ended up scoring one more goal and was so proud of himself. Way to go Danny!!

Sam still didn't play but I am ok with that.

I love it when Sarah looks down to see my face while she is on my shoulders.

Sarah bugging Roman for a treat. Roman just stared at her wishing she would go away.

Danny's Spring Program
Danny had his spring program last week. He sang all of the songs which made me very happy. He didn't have quite as much enthusiasm as the other kids but that is exactly how I was as a child. I was quiet. He also tried very hard not to smile or make his movements to big. What a funny kid.

Although he didn't show much emotion, I could tell he was so happy and proud to see his grandparents come. When we walked in he searched to see who had come to support him. I saw just a little tiny look of excitement when he noticed who had come. That little tiny look of excitement meant he was very very excited, he just doesn't like to display his emotions in front of a crowd.

Yay Danny! Now that no one is watching, he can show his happiness.

Haha. He is trying not to smile.

DISNEYLAND!!

2011-05-10T08:48:00.000-07:00

We went to Disneyland again. Can you tell we are a little obsessed? Seriously, I love this place. It brings so much happiness. If you aren't happy in Disneyland, I don't know what will make you happy.

We invited My mom and dad and Tim and his girlfriend, Amy.

We stayed at the one of the Villas at the Grand Californian Hotel. It was AMAZING! Sarah LOVED the view. She was so fascinated with everything that she saw. She would just stare and gasp.

This was a view from our bedroom at night. We watched Color of Wonder every night from our room. The boys would fall asleep with the shades open so that they fell asleep to this.

We also had an upstairs with 2 more bedrooms and a pool table. The boys got up every morning and went up to play pool. That is Tim on the left. The kids loved eating on the balcony.

Sarah and Grandpa

Amy and Danny and Sarah and I on Dumbo.

One of my favorite things at Disneyland, Character Breakfast. Obviously Sarah's LEAST favorite thing at Disneyland.

Brian got us tickets that we could take to the very front of the line so we didn't have to wait at all! I am so glad that he has been working with Disney and their hotels. This was AWESOME! So here we are waiting. We just came through the exit and got right on.

The boys with Cars and Grandma and Grandpa on Screamin'

Time to rest. I loved being able to go back to the room to give naps and let the kids rest. Sam must have gotten this sitting position from me. I always watch tv like this.

Sarah was so happy when my mom gave her a little Minnie. She loves anything to cuddle with.

Thank you Disneyland for making us so HAPPY!

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-09T21:33:00.000-07:00

Being a mother is the hardest but most rewarding, wonderful part of my life. Being a mother is what defines me. That is the most important thing to me in this world. I love my kids so much.
I have the greatest mom. We have lots of similarities but we are also very different. I can still tell her everything. I know she would do anything for me. She has taught me to love being a mother and that it is the most important job of my life.
I have learned that it is ok to show that you are not perfect. I have always had a hard time with hiding my feelings but I have learned that I am ok with making mistakes. I have learned to look at all of the people who are doing good and I have realized that I am surrounded by good people. I am thankful for the good people in my life. I am thankful for the good examples to me. Nobody is perfect but if you make a mistake(which I do very often), fix it and learn from it!
Anyway thank you Brian for making Mother's Day wonderful for me, as always.

And thank you, Danny for making me this beautiful hat on the day of the Royal Wedding of William and Kate. If I had been there, I would have made a few people jealous with this hat.

Look who's walking!

2011-04-28T18:45:00.000-07:00

Woohoo! Sarah has finally started walking. I am so happy. I let her outside for a bit today and she loved being able to walk outside.

I bought this skirt fabric a while ago and finally decided to use it. I saw this skirt online and decided to try and make it. These pictures don't do the poofiness justice. Yes, I am almost positive that poofiness is a word...at least in my vocabulary.

Sewing with Scraps!

2011-04-28T18:08:00.000-07:00

I was shopping for fabric at fabric.com (love that website). I wanted to make some summer clothes for Sarah but I decided to quickly look through my scraps of fabric that I already have first.
I am curious to know how much leftover fabric people have. Is it normal to have a huge box full? I think I buy too much fabric. Anyway I found lots of scraps and decided to start using them instead of buying more. This is the little dress I made from some scraps:

Haha. I used this pattern that looks really gross with the fabric they used. It was only $1. Just needs some cute modern fabric to spice it up a little.

It was really wide on her so I put a tie in the back.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T21:23:00.000-07:00

Oops I forgot to photoshop Sam's pirate tattoo off of his face. Yay for warm weather!

Easter cupcake baskets at Grandma and Grandpa Ross'.

Easter Egg Hunt at Grandma and Grandpa Cannon's

Poor Sam was sick.

Easter Weekend in St George

2011-04-24T21:01:00.000-07:00

Every year, growing up, my family and I went to St George for spring break. Everyone in my family has kind of stopped going down except for us. We went down with my grandparents and had the best time. It was so warm and I have decided we are all so much happier when it is warm. I love my grandparents. I was so happy to spend time with them.

Sarah got plenty of attention. My cute grandma wanted to buy her an outfit and while we were picking one out, Sarah found a purse in the store. She grabbed it and wouldn't put it down. She was so excited about it. Thanks Grandma for the outfit and purse!

Danny playing at the park and Sarah's funny crawl. She didn't want to crawl on her skirt.

It is so fun to take pictures of this girl. She was just in heaven down here. She loved being outside. We all did.

We also did lots of relaxing. On the right, my granddad spent an hour reading the boys books and measuring everything in their room with a measuring tape. My granddad also did a lot of dancing for Sarah. She didn't really like it though :)

Monster Applique Shirt plus Matching Pants

2011-04-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

I have had a lot of people ask how to do these shirts so here is my little tutorial:

You will need:

A plain shirt to fuse your fabric onto
Fusible web (wonder under seems to be the favorite, but I only had heat n bond and that works too)
Fabric for your design (make sure you get extra fabric for the eyes and mouth, along with the body)
A pattern of your design
Thread

Start off by fusing your wonder under to your fabric. Follow the instructions that come with the wonder under on how to do that. You will want it to be a little bigger than the size of your monster design.

Print or draw your monster design, cut it out and pin it on the fabric that you just fused to the wonder under. Cut out the monster shape.

Follow the instructions on how to fuse the fabric of the body to the shirt. I just ironed it on.

Next, add the eyes, mouth and teeth.

Last, it is a very good idea to sew around the edges in case the wonder under doesn't stay fused onto the fabric. It should be fine but I do it just in case.

I added stitches for the eyes and a little bow for the monster hair. And that is it!

I decided to make some pants to match it. Really you can just buy any pants pattern for kids and add a 3 inch ruffle on the bottom! I bought some knit fabric from fabric.com. I love that website. They have lots of cute knit fabric that is hard to find. These pants are made for the fall so they are a little big.

I originally made these shirt for the boys because I saw some cute monster applique shirts from mini boden and wanted to try to make them. For the cropped pants, I just used a regular pants pattern for kids and cut them short and hemmed them. Pretty easy and cheap!

Easter Bunny

2011-04-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

I took the kids to get their pictures taken with the easter bunny. My sister, Whitney brought her 2 girls also. This is the best picture I could get.

You are going to sit on the easter bunny whether you like it or not!

Pat your butt

2011-04-09T20:17:00.000-07:00

Why does it always seem like I am saying no to my kids?
Danny is always saying, "You never let me do anything."
Whenever I give in and tell them they can do something they probably shouldn't be doing, I regret it.

Sam will ask me for something and he always says please. He asks so nicely that it makes me feel even worse when I say no.
Then he will say, "No, I said PLEEEASE."
Then I have to explain to him that that was so nice to say that and I appreciate it but no you cannot build a shake-alator.

Oh, I guess I should explain what a shake-alator is. Well it is when my boys take all of the couch cushions off and stack them together so that they are next to each other, each touching the ground. Then they climb across them while the other shakes it. They got the idea from wipeout which they think is the funniest show ever. I love that they just made up the name also. They tend to start jumping on the couch and it has started ripping and then leaves a big mess that they don't want to clean up.

ANYWAY, after I still say no, he will spit at me. Not a loud spit just a quiet little spit. I know it is coming every time.
THEN if I ignore him spitting (which is most of the time), he says,
"THEN I'LL PAT YOUR BUTT."
The best part is that he really thinks that he is hurting my feelings. It is so funny. I think he thinks pat means punch or hit.

A post about poop

2011-04-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

That is right, I am mainly documenting how Sam got potty training so if you want to read about it, then go right ahead. So, I forgot how much I hate potty training. I started with Sam last week and the first day he just cried every time I told him to go potty. I was so frustrated. Then he started getting a little excited about it (with the help of skittles). He got to the point where he would pee in the toilet great but wouldn't poop. So for a week I was cleaning out his underpants several times a day.
Then yesterday I noticed that strained look in his face, like he was forcing something out, and grabbed him and ran him to the toilet while ripping his pants off. I got him on the toilet just in time and he pooped in the toilet! I know that shouldn't really count but I was happy. Then today he went all by himself every time. There was poop all over the toilet, floor and rug but that is fine with me as long as it isn't in his underpants.
He still has accidents but he is getting better and I am so happy for that. He is so proud of himself.

Sam is so proud that he wears underpants just like Danny. I can't wait to bring this picture out in 10 years and show the boys. Maybe I will make a life size poster and pull it out at Danny's wedding. He will love me for that.

I went to go get Sam at his friends house because I had a feeling he hadn't put his pants on and this is how I found him. My boys really have no shame.

I also love that wherever we go, he says hi to everyone! I had lots of uncomfortable hi's from old men who didn't want to talk to little kids. Every time someone would say hi, Sam would get so excited.
He also asks everyone how old they are. It is funny...and a little uncomfortable. This lady said I am really old, I am 54. Then Danny said, "That isn't that old." She was so happy.

Poor little baby

2011-04-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

Ok I know Sarah is not a baby anymore but I am still going to call her my baby. Probably for a while now so that is that.
Anyway, poor Sarah fell and hit her ear on the table and cut it pretty deep. I took her to the hospital and she had to get 3 stitches. It was sad. They had to wrap her up and hold her down so that they could stitch her ear up. They held her face down so all I could see was one little eye peeking out under the hand, crying.

Then Sarah got a rash yesterday and the doctor doesn't know what it is. I realized how lucky I am for this sweet girl. She is always so happy and content. This past week she has been so sad and just crying all of the time. Thank goodness for benadryl today.

Here are some pictures of Sarah climbing up and down the stairs. It makes me so nervous so I follow her up and down... again and again. I kind of did this just to remember milestones.

The Annual Women's Pad Reunion w/ hubby's tagging along

2011-04-03T15:11:00.000-07:00

Brian and I went to St George last weekend with all of his friends and their wives. All of the guys do their trip in the summer and decided to do another with the wives. They wanted to title this trip BNAG (but not as good) but I decided to change that lame title. It is so much better with the wives!

Since the guys were in charge, we ate at the player's club. It was actually really good.

Thank you Kelli for the amazing pancakes!

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Dinner in Vegas. Everyone saw O or Lady Gaga. Since we had already seen O and couldn't get tickets to Gaga we hung out with our good friends who just moved to Vegas.

When I first saw these 2 (on the left) I started laughing. How funny are their matching golf outfits. They were totally serious too! We did a lot of relaxing on this trip!

Happy Birthday Cole! What more could you ask for? Nothing is more rewarding that your this picture of Josh.

Of course we had to do the jumping pictures.

In case you are confused with the picture on the right, let's just be happy that there is no sound or smell that comes with this picture. The light is out for a reason.

Woohoo!

Breakfast at the Bear Paw. Yuuuuuuum!